


no feet apart cause we're not gay

by bipolar_chris



Series: peter is a tired aroace [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Aromantic, Aromantic Peter Parker, Asexual Character, Asexual Peter Parker, Asexuality, But only a little, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen, Kinda, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Platonic Relationships, Self-Hatred, author might be aroace, peter is aroace and very sick of everyone's shit, who tf knows at this point, you'll see I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:07:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26076190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bipolar_chris/pseuds/bipolar_chris
Summary: Peter doesn't know when it started, but it has become very evident that everyone thinks he and Ned are dating. The only problem is-- they're not.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: peter is a tired aroace [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893073
Comments: 22
Kudos: 203





	no feet apart cause we're not gay

**Author's Note:**

> guys im gonna level with you-- i literally woke up at 5am pissed off thinking about this. for the record, no, this will not end in slash. while i do sometimes ship peter/ned, i want to make it abundantly clear that this is platonic. peter is aroace in this and i literally despise fics that make it seem like that is something that needs to be 'fixed'

Peter doesn’t know when it started. Maybe when May walked in on him and Ned cuddling. Or maybe it was when Tony saw them holding hands after school. It could be the way they buy gifts for each other even when there’s no occasion. Or how they sleep in the same bed during sleepovers. In any case, it has become very evident that everyone is convinced they’re dating. An understandable confusion, but annoying nonetheless. Especially when they completely ignore him when he says that Ned is just a friend.

He  _ is _ just a friend, and that’s what makes it so infuriating. As it stands, Ned is straight, Peter is aroace, and neither of them are interested in a queerplatonic relationship with each other. That should be the end of it! True, Ned and MJ are the only ones who know about him being aroace, but the point stands. 

So that brings us to now, what was  _ supposed _ to be a best-friend movie marathon with too many snacks and not enough sleep. But, well--

“Honey, can you keep your door open during movie night tonight?” 

Peter looked up from the stubborn bag of popcorn that  _ wouldn’t fucking open _ . May shifted from foot to foot, not quite meeting his eyes. “What? Why? You’ve never had a rule like that before.”

She looked guilty. “Just keep your door open, okay?”

“Fine.”

That’s how it started. A few nervous words, a complicated dance around the matter at hand. It continued like this, Peter lost trak of how many occurances there were. At least May was so courteous to drop the subject. Tony, however, was a much different story.

Peter sifted through the clothing rack, picking out a familiar hoodie.

“What, are you buying a gift for Ned?” Tony had decided to tag along, and Peter was already regretting it. 

“No,” he lied. He really didn’t need them breathing down his neck about this. However, he never was all that great about lying.

“It is!”

“No, it’s not. I like this brand of hoodies oversized.” Not entirely untrue; he did like to steal Ned’s hoodies. “Can I get back to shopping now?”

“Fine, go back to shopping for your boyfriend.” 

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Peter practically shouted, and then immediately regretted it when he felt the eyes of curious workers and customers alike on his back. He winced, praying that no one he knew was here. “He’s not my boyfriend, okay?”

“Okay, geez!” Tony raised his hands up defensively before stalking off to god-knows-where.

And for a while, Peter was left to his devices, wandering through the aisles, looking for a specific sweater he heard Ned talking about the last time they went window shopping together with MJ. He had found a few similar ones, but none had quite the same fit or fabric. It was getting a little irritating; clothes shopping had always stressed him out. But imagining how happy his friend would be to get that ridiculously expensive sweater that perfectly represents the problem with capitalism and discrimination against the poor — MJ’s words, not his — Peter couldn’t help but smile. Scanning the store one more time, his eyes finally landed on The Sweater. He strode toward it, already planning how he would wrap it (in old newspapers, as was their tradition from when their families were too poor to afford wrapping paper) and when he would give it (Ned was coming over on Saturday for the whole weekend so Peter would have time to wash it beforehand) until a voice from behind him stopped him in his tracks.

“So, what anniversary is this for?” Tony asked, and Peter felt as though he could punch a hole in his head if he didn’t cut it out. 

“For the last time, Ned isn’t my boyfriend. He is straight, and I am getting my friend a gift because he is just that: a friend. Can we drop it?”

Finally recognizing the frustration in Peter’s tone, he narrowed his eyes. “Hm. I see.”

“Thank you.”

“You haven’t made a move yet.”

It takes all the strength in his body not to physically recoil. Don’t get him wrong -- Ned is great, and anybody would be lucky to have him -- but the idea of dating someone, especially his best friend is just-- yuck. “What? No! That’s— why would you even— no!”

“Aw, you’re getting flustered.” Tony ruffled the teen’s hair, unaware of how very close he was to losing his fingers. “It’s okay, I amend my previous statement. Go back to shopping for your soon-to-be-boyfriend.”

Peter huffed and stomped away, making sure to snatch Tony’s credit card. If he’s gonna be an asshole, he’s gonna be paying for anything his victim buys.

“Can you believe that? What gives him the right to just say shit like that? It’s like he’s not even listening to me! I almost wanna come out so he’ll just shut the fuck up!” Peter was absolutely fuming, he paced the length of his room, avoiding Ned’s legs hanging off the side of the bed.

“That’s bullshit. You don’t have to come out until you’re ready, dude.”

“But it’s not just him! I’ve been asked four times this week at school if we’re dating! And not even by people I actually talk to, it’s just kids trying to get gossip on ‘the school gays’. You’re not even gay!” There it was. Peter could handle others talking about him, it’s nothing he hasn’t heard before. But spreading rumors about his friend was nowhere near okay. “Don’t even get me started on May. She was considering not letting you sleep over. Just because she thinks we might be dating.”

Ned nodded along, knowing his friend didn’t need advice right now, just someone to validate his feelings. “That must suck. Why do people just assume you’re attracted to someone when you’ve specifically stated otherwise?”

“That’s the thing though! I mean, sure, I’m pissed about that, but isn’t it worse for you? You’re straight and people just assume you’re gay! God, you should be ranting to me about this, not listening to me complain.” Guilt began to seep in, and Peter would be lying if he said it was the first time. He was the reason people thought Ned was gay; what if his friend didn’t want to keep being so close? Maybe he was being selfish. He stopped in front of Ned. “Are you…okay with this still? The whole touching thing, I mean.”

Ned grabbed Peter’s shoulders and sat him down on the bed, sliding his hands down to grab Peter’s own. “Peter, if anything ever makes me uncomfortable, I will tell you. But this whole rumor mill? It’ll blow over.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t care about what people say, because  _ you _ are my friend, not them. You are entitled to your emotions and identity. Assuming you and I are gay despite our sexual and romantic orientations is shit, okay? But just because you’re not straight doesn’t mean it’s any less valid to be mad at people who try to invalidate and assume they know your identity better than you do. Don’t feel guilty about that.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Peter sighed, flopping backwards onto the bed. “It just seems like everyone is so obsessed with the idea of romance and I just... don’t get it? I’m not ashamed, but when they always say things like that, it just makes me want to come out that much less. I’m not ready to come out, but how am I supposed to get them to stop?”

They spent the rest of the night devising a plan. Peter could only hope that would work.


End file.
